Hyundai ELantra ATF follow up

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Hi,

I decided I WILL have the ATF changed in my 2017 Hyundai Elantra Value Edition with SP4 30K. However, if I take it to one of the several well respected independent shops in my area, how do I know for sure the drain and refill was actually done and done correctly since, with NO dispstick, there is NO way that I would know unless I stand there and watch them which I am sure most shops frown upon. If I use an independent shop, I think I would personal purchase the OEM fluid and bring to them and just ask for the empty bottles back.
The other option is to have the dealer do it, but again, how do you REALLY know if was done and done correctly?

Any thoughts??

Thanks
Michael in NJ
 
You'll never know unless you do it yourself. Requesting the old, empty bottles is about as close as you can get to verification, but even that means very little.
 
Most of these "sealed" transmissions require the fill to be done at a specific temperature range. They will need the technical information and appropriate instrument to do this. Given Hyundai's lengthy powertrain warranty, I would take it to a Hyundai dealer to maintain the warranty (or do it myself). I know taking it to a dealer is not required to maintain the warranty BUT if the over or under fill and there are future transmission problems, you may have an issue. My two cents!
 
Originally Posted by JustN89
You'll never know unless you do it yourself. Requesting the old, empty bottles is about as close as you can get to verification, but even that means very little.



Yes , DIY
 
Your choices are to do it yourself or trust the shop to perform the service as requested. Even empty bottles isn't fully conclusive they did it.
 
I am going with the dealer for this one for my 2017 Elantra. They have everything needed to do the job. They have a lot of experience or training vehicle specific. If anything happens to the transmission they have no excuse to deny warranty.
 
I had my Santa Fe done at the dealer, in conjunction with a recall that needed to be done. I do trust them and I got SP IV. I am less sure about my trusted independents, and if they had to order SP IV from a local dealer, the cost would be much more.
 
You could open the check plug and ensure fluid trickles out while checking the color before and after. Vehicle must be level and warm. Or you could mark the position of the drain and check plug before bringing the vehicle into the shop so you know they've been removed and replaced :)
 
If I was to purchase the SPIV fluid myself at the dealer, EXACTLY how many quarts?? I can't seem to find that information anywhere!
 
not sure which tranny your talkin about due to abbreviations but if its the 6 speed also used in an 18 kia opyima i am interested as i DIY almost everything at 1/3 the cost + know its done right!
 
Originally Posted by flinter
If I was to purchase the SPIV fluid myself at the dealer, EXACTLY how many quarts?? I can't seem to find that information anywhere!
I HIGHLY recommend DIY, it's not that hard at all if done the way I did it. See the link for info and the answer to your question. Been there done that. My thread link
 
Again, DIY is NOT gonna happen! I never worked on a car in my life and have no intention of messing this up!
 
Originally Posted by flinter
Again, DIY is NOT gonna happen! I never worked on a car in my life and have no intention of messing this up!
Again, I still answered your question regarding how many quarts with the link.
wink.gif
 
Does anyone here know if Vavoline MaxLife ATF is one of the Hyundai approved fluids to use instead of SPIV? The owners manual states to use SPIV, OR the other Hyundai "approved" fluids. But they dont state which other brands are "approved"!
 
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Originally Posted by flinter
DIY is NOT gonna happen, so its either independent shop or a dealer.

If you're gonna pay a shop, consider using the dealership. If you take your own fluids to a shop and something happens to go wrong with the tranny, the shop may say they aren't on the hook for repairs because you used customer supplied parts. They could very well demand that you prove that the tranny failure was as result of their labour and not your supplied fluids. This is why many shops just don't do customer supplied parts.

For a 100k miles i bit the bullet and paid the dealership to service the tranny (I did all the other fluids myself). Did I like paying the premium price for dealership service, nope not one bit. However, I slept well at night knowing that if ANYTHING went wrong with that tranny it was on them and I didn't have to keep records, buy fluids and lug them down to a shop blah blah blah. 10yrs and 164k miles later my Kia tranny shifts/runs like the day I bought it. I do now/have been doing D&F's myself since the warranty period expired using MaxLife.

Congrats on your new ride... take care of it (follow the maintenance schedule and don't beat on it) and you'll get many many years of trouble free ownership out of it.
 
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Originally Posted by flinter
Does anyone here know if Vavoline MaxLife ATF is one of the Hyundai approved fluids to use instead of SPIV? The owners manual states to use SPIV, OR the other Hyundai "approved" fluids. But they dont state which other brands are "approved"!


It is not an approved fluid.
More often than not, the aftermarket fluids are regarded here (by tribologists) to be better than OEM fluids.
The Valvoline MaxLife ATF meets the frictional requirements of Hyundai SPIV ATF.
 
2017 Hyundai Elantra will need about 3~ 4 quarts of SP4-M for a drain and fill ... The dealer may elect to do a whole ATF exchange using an exchange machine ...SP4-M ATF at the Hyundai dealer is now up to approx. $20 per quart .
The dealer may ask why are you looking to do a ATF change now on a sealed transmission good for 100K miles ? In this case your answer would be I want to drive this Elantra longer than 100K miles , so changing the ATF at approx. 30K miles would represent "good transmission hygiene" to remove break in transmission debris, metal / plastic shavings , etc. Good luck with your decision ...
 
I'm not aware of any (Idemitsu, Ravenol, Eneos) aftermarket fluid that carries "Hyundai approved SP-IV".

All of them, including MaxLife, say "suitable for..." . And most (Valvoline, Chevron and similar) of the reputable mfgs have a limited warranty against fluid related damages.

Fwiw, I have been using MaxLife to replace SP-III for over 60k miles now without any issues.
 
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